Academic Policies
Comprehensive Examination
The student takes a comprehensive examination after the
completion of his/her course requirements. A student who fails
the examination will have to take another examination. A
second failure will mean his/her taking the examination again but
only after taking the required additional courses of six (6) units.
Failing the said examination will require the student to request a
reassessment for a fee of Php 1,000.00.
Dissertation/Thesis Writing and Defense
Before being awarded a doctorate/master’s degree, every candidate
is required to write and successfully defend a doctoral
dissertation/master’s thesis, which will be the candidate’s original
contribution to the existing fund of knowledge in his/her
field of specialization.
The thesis/dissertation writing and defense come in three stages
– the proposal, the pre-oral and the oral defenses. Prior to
proposal presentation, the candidate shall submit to the Program
Chair the complete first three chapters of his/her research proposal
with the bibliography, research instrument/s and other pertinent
appendices, for approval and endorsement to the Dean of the Graduate
School. Upon submission of the five (5) copes of his/her
thesis/dissertation proposal, the Dean shall create a
Thesis/Dissertation Committee, composed of an adviser and two
evaluators, who shall scrutinize and give suggestions for the
paper’s improvement. If the paper is approved by the
Committee, the candidate shall submit to the GS Office a copy of the
revised proposal and will then be allowed to proceed with the
data-gathering and the rest of the writing process.
Once the candidate has completed Chapters 4 and 5, and upon the
recommendation or endorsement of the adviser and the Program Chair,
he/she now may proceed with the pre-oral defense. During this
stage, he/she shall present the completed research for evaluation by
the same Committee. Five (5) copies must be submitted to the
GS at least seven days prior to the pre-oral. The Committee
will go over the paper page by page to determine if the paper
follows the format and style prescribed by the PUPGS and if the
recommendations provided by the committee during the proposal
presentation were incorporated. In this stage, some other
recommendations/suggestions may be provided to further improve the
paper both in format and content.
After the candidate has complied with the pre-oral
recommendations, he/she must submit his/her revised manuscript to
the GS Office together with the Certification signed by the
Committee that the paper is now ready for oral examination.
The candidate shall submit six (6) copies of the thesis or eight (8)
copies of the dissertation seven days prior to the oral defense
schedule. The Dean shall create/appoint the Panel on Oral
Examination who will undertake the final evaluation of the
thesis/dissertation.
Time Limit
A graduate student is expected to obtain the degree within a
given period of time.
Master’s degree - The
student is given a period of five (5) years from the first term of
enrollment to finish the degree.
Doctorate degree - A
doctoral student must finish the degree within seven (7) years from
the first term of enrollment.
A student who has exceeded the time limit but has passed
the Comprehensive Examination is required to take at least six to
twelve units of additional courses to be determined by the Dean
A student who hast not taken/passed the Comprehensive
Examination, but has exceeded the time limit must have to take
75% of the required number of units under the new
curriculum.
Leave of Absence
A graduate student intending to take a leave of absence must
submit a written request to the Office of the GS Dean if he/she
cannot attend the University for two consecutive terms (Summer is
considered a term). A student returning from a leave of absence
without permission must write the Dean an application for
readmission.
Honorable Dismissal
- The Registrar issues an Honorable Dismissal to a student who
voluntarily withdraws from the University for purposes of
transferring to another school.
- Any student applying for an Honorable Dismissal shall be
cleared of all accountabilities before a certificate is issued
to him/her.
- Any student who was issued an honorable dismissal cannot be
readmitted to the PUP Graduate School.
Policy on Non-Thesis Programs
Students under the Non-Thesis Program are required to enroll in
two research-based subjects wherein they will present in a
colloquium the policy/feasibility studies they have
undertaken as requirements of the subjects.
Policies on Academic Discipline
Petition Classes
Through a written request, students may petition for a class that
is not offered during the semester as long as there are at least ten
students in the class.
Tutorial Classes
Graduating students desiring to enroll in a regular course work
but do not meet the minimum number of ten students to organize
a class may be enrolled on tutorial/independent study basis if there
is an instructor wiling to accept the assignment since he/she will
be paid only for 18 hours at the end of the term. The maximum number
of students for a tutorial/independent study is five (5).
If the number exceeds five, a class may be organized and the
students will pay for the deficiency of the total tuition fee of the
required 10 students.
Tutorial Class Guidelines
The following guidelines are to be observed in tutorial
classes:
- A tutorial class may be offered only in the following
cases:
- The student is graduating during
the term,
- The subject is not offered during
the semester/summer, and,
- Cross-enrollment is not possible;
- Subject must be a non-board, non-major or
non-laboratory subject;
- Subject which is no longer offered due to the revision of
the curriculum shall not be offered on a tutorial basis
but a substitute subject should be required in its place;
- A student cannot enroll in more than one tutorial class.
However, he/she may be allowed to enroll in a maximum of two (2)
tutorial subjects if he/she does not exceed the maximum
number of units for the term as reflected in his/her
curriculum sheet.
Crediting of Subjects Taken in Other Schools
Equivalent graduate work not exceeding 30% of the total units in
the PUP curriculum and earned not more than five (5) years prior to
graduation from the PUP Master’s/ Doctoral degree program may be
accepted by transfer from a graduate school of recognized standing
An accreditation fee per unit for each credited subject will
be charged.
Scholastic Delinquency
A student shall be disqualified from continuing his program of
study in the Graduate School if he/she:
- fails in two or more subjects within a term;
- fails to maintain the required minimum average
grade of 2.0 for master’s and 1.75 for
doctorate;
- fails for the third time in the written comprehensive
examination; and,
- fails in the thesis/dissertation oral examination.
Study Privileges of the University Faculty and Administrative
Personnel
The University extends 100% tuition fee waiver to regular faculty
members pursuing graduate studies at the Graduate School and Open
University System. A 75% tuition fee discount is extended to
part-time faculty. (Office Memorandum No. 18, Series of 2008).
Members of good standing of the Unyon ng mga Kawani ng PUP
(UNAKA-PUP) are granted 100% free tuition and miscellaneous fees.
These members, however, must possess the qualifications stated in
the guidelines for the grant of educational benefits to UNAKA-PUP
members and their children. (Office Memorandum No. 20, series of
2008)
Administrative officials and non-UNAKA member-employees are
entitled to a 75% discount on tuition fee. Casual employees who have
served the University for at least one year, are granted a 50%
discount, also on tuition fees.
All University personnel are exempted from the payment of medical
and dental fees.